Sunday 29 July 2012

Another baby blanket



Here's my second crochet blanket for the human child!

Grey black, this time (you know I'm loving grey/charcoals to BITS) and it's a massive Granny Square. I think it was at least 4 balls of charcoal and 1 1/2 of red... I thought I'd get a lot further, but it's around a metre and a bit wide... So I'd really love to make a larger one for the couch!

This one will be a perfect one for the car, or for the pram, I guess... when I get around to actually looking at things like prams! Husbie was very sweet this week, his family really wanted to buy us something like a cot or change table (but I've got hand me downs sorted out, and can't justify big pieces of furniture, as we don't have the space) so he talked them around to a baby carrier, one that we both can wear. I'm glad one of us is planning ahead for the bigger picture stuff!

Hope you're enjoying the weekend!

Saturday 28 July 2012

Some flowers for Friday






All these little winter flowers have grown in my garden, as soon as it's past 5 o'clock though, they disappear and wait for the new day.

*** Well, this Friday post is now getting posted on a Saturday morning ***

What I was *going* to say last night was... I'm home from work, with only 2 full weeks left in the office... I'm amazed at how fast the time has gone already... and how good things have been overall. This morning, however, I've woken up early with lots of aches and feeling like another cold is coming on... the pains of being pregz in winter time, in Melbourne and still working in the office. I'm going to smash through lots of oranges and other lovely prevention foods, and hope to keep it away.

Hope these little yellow flowers brighten up your wintery day if you're like me in the South of the World... and hope to see you soon! xo

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Shellac!


The lovely Louise commented on my nails the other day... and if you haven't seen her blog, you should! She's a total darling, and posts some amazing vintage collections and not enough photos of herself (she's a cutie)... but the NAILS.

I've had shellac twice, once at the start of the year in Sydney - a gorgeous red and this round of orange red was from the beauty salon in Sparta Place in Brunswick... it's my fave area of Brunswick because when I was on holidays I visited my hairdressers (Corrin's - a babe), then visited OK OK, my fave shop and then I went to the beauty salon to get the shellac... she had 4 reds to choose and I went for this orange red....

I am NO expert on shellac, how it's done or what it does. I've heard the UV light is damaging (it helps it set) but both times I've stuck my nails into the thing, it's not been for long and my nails have been fine afterwards.

But, as a pregnant babe... everything is growing really fast... so whilst the shellac lasts well for 2 weeks my nails already started growing out compared to at the start of the year the shellac lasted perfect for 3 weeks (with only a little bit of growth) ... anyways!

NAIL POLISH REVIEW. OMG, I don't even have a search tag to match this post... I'll chose friends because Louise is a bloggie friend.. oh and there's a review tag I've used before... I'll use that too. There's no way I've got mental space to make this a beauty blog! BUT, if you are keen on beauty products and info (especially in Melbourne) on beauty stuff, Esme & the Laneway is gorgeous and Lady Melbourne pops up with several beauty reviews as well...

Thanks again for all your lovely comments, I'm loving blogging at the moment... now I just need a little motivation to sew some baby and pregz fash stuff! I'm fast running out of clothing AGAIN that fits me and the bump... we'll see how I get around it.

xoxo

Monday 23 July 2012

The Lego Blanket


I finished this a while back, but doing the finishing touches and washing it carefully took five years, and finally a pretty gorgeous day for me to spread it out on the lawn!



They're blocks of crocheted granny squares (the easiest kind of crochet, in my opinion) that I started in January this year around the time I found out we were expecting... I'd bought the wool on special, and only needed a revisit to Spotlight for the grey joinery colour, and luckily it was the kind they have all the time...

I'm really into grey and charcoal with orange or red... so the yellow and aqua has become an alternative colouring for me now... it's very sweet. And reminds me of lego.

It probably took 3 months of crocheting the granny squares (on the bus, watching Boardwalk Empire) and another month of edging them with the charcoal wool, and then joining... I love thinking that granny square blankets will be quick, but they never are for me! (Just found this post in May, saying I'm finishing it up)

But they're gorgeous when they finally get done!



The connecting stitch I used was just a slip stitch, instead of a single crochet, which made the backing a little thicker and raised... this used to make me annoyed, that it didn't sit flat, but the other way of joining them, is just annoying to do... and this way it's really quick to join... Using a needle will take me forever. If you crochet, what's your best way to join granny squares?


And, as I forgot that I had a challenge in place this year, this is 6/100 for my 100 Things Challenge... and hopefully I'll get a few more photos up of what I've made. I have made a few baby hats, and of course given them away without photographing them. Oh well...

Happy Monday and hope you have a great week!

xoxo

Saturday 21 July 2012

A Saturday Morning Walk


Hey! Here's an idea for a perfect Saturday morning: sleep in, relax, cuddle, eat fresh fruit, have a hot shower, wear really comfy clothes, pin hair up, wear no make up or sunscreen and take the dog for a walk with gorgeous Vitamin D bringing more cuddles with the winter sun.


This week I was back at work, with lots of energy from my time off, so happy to see everyone again and kept busy but not too busy. But it was cold again, overcast and I was stuck with what to wear each day that was comfy and lovely and my style... so after 5 work days, I embraced my cushy comfy attired as much as Doris Day loves the grass and sunshine!



We're 32 weeks, perhaps? Someone in utero is upside down, hanging out comfortably with head in my pelvis... which makes sense why I'm getting kicked around so much on the top of my bump! I had a couple of check ups this week, with the midwives all happy. And now we're catching up every 2 weeks, which makes things a bit more real. Only 3 weeks of work as well, until my maternity leave kicks in. Um, Where The Fuck has the time gone?


Wishing you a lovely weekend and hope you get some Vitamin D too with the sunshine in Melbourne! xoxo

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Nesting in My Lounge Room



Yes, I'm feeling overcome with hormones, and feeling like NESTING. There's so many cliches & stereotypical things you hear about with pregnancy... and I am constantly surprised how the feelings come and go. And honestly, I never thought they would affect me. ME!? As if! BUT, sometimes I feel exactly normal, my usual self... and the next second I feel like a puddle who needs a cuddle... or the next a total mess where I hate everything around me (like the kitchen dishes) and wish I lived in a hotel.

Yep, hormones come and go, and I can feel the onset of nesting, and creating a comfortable place to be and live and love. All the gush!

Husbie loves putting on some of his old records and we mostly have vinyl playing over the weekend, and yes, they are Judy Garland's big old sad eyes. Doris Day the Dog usually lies right in front of that record cover, very cute! My dad and I have planned to make some little square boxes to fit the records in... might be a maternity leave project!

My little coloured accessories are getting turned over as well... because the big news in the Lounge Room is that we finally got a NEW COUCH delivered... and I'm trying to work out what bright colours match it. It's a grey couch but in our Lounge Room has a slight, very slight, green twinge to it (and I'm not too happy with that) ... but bright colours might steer it back to grey/charcoal.



And recognise your card Anna? My friend gave it to me, and I've always been a gherkin lover, so thank goodness I can eat a lot of them, and it's a joke for others. If you haven't seen Anna and her partner's cards by now, you should check out the Able and Game blog first up (they've been travelling, I believe! Lots of lovely travel diary sketches!) and then look around their online store (or visit them at a market!)... cards for all occasions, but for US real people!

I do think about wearing overalls as a LOL outfit, btw. Always up for a laugh, especially a sitegag type of laugh.

xoxo

Sunday 15 July 2012

What happens during Masterchef



My little break from work is almost over, but it's been a really good 'clear the head' couple of weeks... and a great relaxing time with my unborn child. AND during my Masterchef catch ups, I've been crocheting all my scrap wool into granny squares!

Lately, I haven't been as inspired to make clothing (I was hoping to get a Sew Weekly theme up this week or next, but alas) as before my pregnancy, and my sewing room is dark and cold in winter... so not the best place in the house to be at the moment. We got central heating put in for the main rooms, but as the sewing room is a little add-on sunroom type place, it's chilly ... and with gloomy lighting. Not the best for threading needles! Before the baby arrives, we'll have a few changes with the house (we hope!) so maybe the lighting in the sewing room can get fixed up as well.

But, my creating buzz is still there... and I certainly cannot sit still and *just* watch TV! Hurrah for granny squares and baby blankets! This one will have a bit of every colour, but with blocks of red in places as well... and I think joined with a creamy woody colour to frame... I was going to frame with black, but I always frame with a dark colour on my crochet blankets, so I might see what a lighter natural looking colour does.


Hoping you've had a lovely weekend, like mine, and I might just pop around your blogs now to OO and AAAH over your sewing creations! Did you get any projects finished? Hope so!

xoxo

Saturday 14 July 2012

Looking at the future, perhaps


We had the 20-22 week scan a while back, for as you know, we're expecting around here at the Darling Household. We decided not to find out the gender of the unborn child, for a few reasons... but what we did find out about the darling little thing is that it all appears healthy, and we managed to see some really lovely moments in utero.

One time, in profile, the darling was chit chatting away... getting that jaw all ready for chomping or chatting ... a little foot and a little hand made us a bit gushy... and another profile shot showed a very similar little upturned nose like mine... and as my baby photo above shows me at only 3-4 days old, my little human may be sporting that same 'ski jump' profile.

It's so weird thinking about genetics and similarities that will be in appearance and personality... I know so well the characteristics I have in common with mum and dad... so it'll be so interesting seeing how little Darling grows with Husbie and my genes.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! I've got a few little get togethers planned, but seeing the Flight of the Conchords tonight with my bestie... should be great, and I can't see why anyone will stop me from singing along, right? They're both such cute boys, but I'll always settle on Jermaine. He's so funny looking and good looking at the same time!

xoxo

Wednesday 11 July 2012

OK OK, the best tights ever!



OMG, here's what I look like at 30 weeks pregz!

Last weekend we had a mini break to Sydney, to see some lovely friends, but also to get outta the house as Husbie has been working so much since he got quitted from his day job and has become a freelance movie guy. (He's a film colourist, in the real world)

I'm so proud of him that his work has taken off, he's in demand and we're saving money (for let's face it, we have a deadline coming up that could majorly change our financial situation)... but when you're working for yourself, there's so much more to think about! The poor darling has hardly time to invoice, so voila! I employed myself as his bookkeeper and am learning online software so our accountant doesn't go ballistic at us! "BORING!" you're yelling at me, right? I'm such a nerd about some things... I love being the bookkeeper.

ANYWAYS, Husbie finally took some time out so we could have a little holiday AND he took some photos of me in Newtown, wearing my darling darling darling friend Emina's orange bamboo tights.


Yep, she makes the best tights (and these ones are on special at the moment!) and sells them at her darling darling darling store OK OK in Sparta Place, off Sydney Road in Brunswick. I also bought some woolie ones, some ribbed ones, and some ... brown/tan ones that look great with floral stuff... so if you're stuck for original looking tights this winter, Emina has a pair for you. When I was in last week, she was having a clearance sale on clothing, but if you check up with her Facebook updates, you'll see what's going down as she always has great stuff going down.

OK OK blog

OK OK website

OK OK on Facebook!

But you know I've blogged about Emina at OK OK before, especially because she stocks the best range of .... MELISSA SHOES. I'm wearing my brogues Melissa's here in the photo too! The dress is a Country Road (wait for it) dress I found at the op shop, that appears to be a normal batwing dress, but is PERFECT for my roundness and shortness... I am wearing a cowl scarf with it (a scoop loop cowl of course!) and I was surprised for in Sydney (during the day) ... one does not need a jacket! OMG!

xoxo

Monday 9 July 2012

Pop! It's A T-Shirt Dress



Someone just got a little bigger!

Here's my self drafted T-Shirt dress, which is actually nothing special, or maternity focussed... but terribly comfy. Because I haven't made anything for freaking ages, I'm going to follow our old Sew Weekly stats:


The Facts

Fabric: Hand-me-down stretch knit, gift from my friend
Pattern: Self drafted, but using Built By Wendy's Sew U Stretch techniques
Notions: just thread
Year: 2012
Time to complete: 1 hour
First worn: June 2012
Wear again? Yes!

Total Cost: $ZIP/NIL (how thrifty!)


Usually when I make T-Shirt dresses (like this one) I narrow the waist line on both the back and front pieces, or use the bodice and skirt pieces like the Sew U Stretch book suggests (to allow for my waistline)... but for this T-Shirt dress, to allow for the bump, I cut straight down from the bust, thinking that the stretch of the fabric will be ok for the bump, and then my hips. So it's really rectangular, so curves or shape at all... just a tube from the bust/underarm curve. Make sense?

So what tends to happen (and if you were a strict designer or seamstress, you'd scoff) is that the side seams are actually about an inch or two towards the front, instead of right on the sides... because sadly my tush hasn't grown at all, it's all up front with the bewbs and belly... but I'm not strict on myself with sewing, and no one will even be staring at the side seams... especially with this bulge out front!

Here's how I wore it one day to work, it's so super flexible I might make another:


By around 28-29 weeks along, things are getting rounder, heavier and WAY pushier. The human inside is growing a LOT and pushing outwards ("Too soon, babes," I tell it) and reacts to a LOT of outside world stuff. Conversations I have or things I see, spreads emotions or hormones to my fetus, who moves around with excitement. It's SO interesting and weird growing this human!

Thanks for all your lovely comments about my dog walking outfit! Too hilarious!

Friday 6 July 2012

Mid Winter Holiday


I'm really excited as I've scored 2 weeks away from work, as a little Mid Winter Holiday... but of course it's been freezing, windy and all things terrible as I caught a cold! My immune system is shot, but I'm laying low... watching all the episodes of Masterchef (you know you can watch them online, catch up tv is the BEST) and crocheting in my warm little house with Doris Day the Dog.

My pregnancy is full of little mantras and they pop up here and there... Easy Does It... That's Perfect ... This is Such a Short Time in Your Life... Find the Time... and lots more...

Little sayings that when I feel a stress or an urgency or a dilemma, I repeat these little things to myself (some are from my Doula, or my hypnobirth cd or just things that come into my brain and maybe it could be as the baby grabs hold of its first brain waves...) and it makes things ok...

Today we're going for a little holiday to Sydney and you could say that I am NOT packing the above clothing... however cute that little jumper is. My friend Lindsay gave it to me last year (He's got a great op shopping eye for detail!), and I can think of nothing more hilarious that a fetus covered with poodles... so I wear it out walking the dog.

Happy Friday and stay warm!

xoxo

Thursday 5 July 2012

Pregz Fash: Long Sleeves & Long Bodies


For the first time in a while, I went to Big W and bought something other than underwear. New clothing? Against my grain entirely right? I bought long sleeve, long bodied thermal things. I think you're supposed to wear them at night as sleepwear (as they were with the pyjama section)... but they're darling for my tum and keeping me warm.

I haven't bought many new things since I started blogging, part of my ye olde Wardrobe Refashion pledge was to attempt to make everything I needed to buy... and since I've been blogging for over 5 years, I think there's been a few instances (a trip to Bali & Singapore - travel makes me impulse buy more) where I've bought off the rack clothing.

But through this pregnancy, my mood to sew and DIY has shifted just a little! A few Saturdays ago, I needed a long list of new items (size 12 underwear, yep that's 2 sizes larger than what I usually take - but my usual undies are WAY too tight and uncomfortable) so stopped at the Salvos first, and what I couldn't find there, I then headed to Big W knowing I'd get those Bonds maternity bras and undies there (which are VERY comfy btw). When it's cold, with a changing body shape, I just gotta get shit off the rack and quickly!

Pregz Fash Featured:

- Light grey thermal top from Big W

- Mini Skirt - Handmade back in the Sydney 100 Outfits Era! (I wear it under the belly, low on the hips and with the longer top to cover, seems to look cute enough)

- Long and wooly-ish cardigan from the Salvos - thrifty!

Bump:

See? Small again! It goes up and down a lot! This photo was about 2 weeks ago, but a week after the 90s dress up day at work... where I thought the bump was way bigger! Oh well!


Hope you've been having a lovely week! I'm on holidays and living it up, getting over ANOTHER cold (oh the immune system has broken) but looking forward to a couple little mini breaks I've planned during the holz!)

xoxo

Monday 2 July 2012

Pregz Fash: Dress Up Day at Work


This is a subtle pregnancy photo really, taken in our office on a dress up day while my friend finished her artwork.

Yes, I know... I bet you guessed it right away! I'm a dead ringer for the ultimate trinity of grunge and 90s: Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love AND Frances Bean all rolled into one. Yep, it was a 90s dress up day!

I'm back again today, because I have 2 weeks break from work. VERY excited to have a little rest, recharge my batteries and catch up on a lot of things (I had a series of blood tests this morning, and a midwife catch up on Wed... and need to spend a lot more time relaxing in the bath)...


Pregz Fash Featured:

- Husbie's brown cardigan (Kurt Cobain wore one a LOT)

- Handmade long sleeve tshirt dress, nice and stretchy... I got a better photo (at 28 weeks - I tried to remember for you) so will go into the details later, amazing that I actually sewed up something.

- Docs!

Bump:

Probably around 26 weeks here, but it'd go up and down in size a lot around this time... depending on what I was doing, what exercise I was doing and what I was eating...

Hope you had a lovely weekend and I'll probably see you tomorrow as I'm in the writing swing of things, being on my break. I MAY even sew this week, as have been eyeing of the Sew Weekly themes for a little bit of motivation, and thinking about what's in my stash! xoxo

Sunday 1 July 2012

Pregz Fash: Exercise


BACK AGAIN! I'm getting on a roll again!

Being a thrifty family, and a DIY extremist, we don't shop that often... I plan ahead for things I need ( for example, right now, we need cushions for our new couch & I want them to match Doris Day's lounge room dog bed, so I'm slowly waiting for a big old winter wooly blanket - grey - to appear on ebay or at the op shop) for myself, for the house and sometimes for Husbie.

Now that I'm pregnant, I've been surprised at how many different things I've needed to keep covered, to keep warm... and I've got zero motivation to sew up the new things... my usual Gung Ho-ness is replaced with tiredness, or the need to have more baths and relax a bit more...

But, when I'm in the right frame of mind, we've been getting up a smidge earlier and braving the Melbourne cold for a walk. It's harder being active in wintertime, but with a little yoga here and there and a little walking (plus the busy times at work), I'm feeling very healthy!

Pregz Fash Featured:

- New Gumboots for the rainy days, I got a size bigger (did you hear that your feet can grow a size during pregnancy?) but wear wooly warm socks with them

- Hand me down stretchy maternity tops! I'm in love with so many of my friends who are keeping me thrifty! A darling friend shared several stretchy and warm long tops that I wear a lot as under garments at the moment.

- Neck Muff - with any spare stretch knit fabric, I make neck muffs, so this is a purple one left over from last year's Mother's Day Theme at Sew Weekly.

- Old Lumberjack jacket that will never do up over the bump, but still is very warm with that lining!

Bump:
This was early June, when I started have regular growth spurts... for the first 5 and a half months, I'd feel the fetal movements, and the skin growing gradually and my uterus was always under my belly button... from around this time onwards, I noticed every Wed or Thursday a little growth and heavier feelings across my belly... but also a few more growing pains crept in over the weekends...

So weird to be feeling so much growth happening!

xoxo


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